Many of you will have seen in the news this week that Finance Minister Flaherty is changing some of the home financing rules effective April 19th. It has been widely reported this action was taken to slow the possibility of a housing bubble forming in Canada which could have the effect of deepening the recession which the government believes we are starting to rise out of.

Almost all the clients I meet with, who don’t yet have a home, have a dream of owning a home. So, the question most on their minds right now would be do the new rules impact their dream? My considered answer would be … maybe. Helpful, eh?

Actually there is a reason for my middle of the road response. There is more than one way to pursue the dream of owning a home. There is the prudent, planning and saving towards realization of the dream and then there is the almost scatter gun effort. For those who are prudent, planning and saving — it is unlikely the changes will have an impact on them. For those with the scatter gun effect — yes the changes likely will have an impact and they should.

I’ve been amazed at times by the number of clients who meet with me for counseling who are focused on wanting an answer to when they can buy their home to the exclusion of any discussion of planning or saving. These clients are people who have recently done a filing under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. This is an opportunity for them to make a fresh start and with some fiscal discipline finally realize their dream of home ownership. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

There are companies and individual lenders who specialize in second mortgages that are doomed to fail so that the lender can take your home for much less than the market value. I am going to show you how it works so you will know what to watch out for.

This is the true story, unfortunately, I hear it from lots of people who come to see me after getting into a mortgage they cannot manage.

Each time my client explains, something unusual has happened; a sickness, death, lay off et cetera, and the credit cards get maxed out. They struggle for a while and fall behind on payments to creditors. Sometimes collection agents convince them not to pay their mortgage so that a payment can be sent to the collection agent. Collectors tell them that it’s better to pay the credit cards to keep their good credit and let the mortgage fall behind. (Take note … that is a false statement).

Soon the collection agent demands they get a 2nd mortgage to pay off the balances on the credit card debt and often demand that the struggling homeowner goes directly to the lender that the collector recommends. They paint a very nice picture that this particular lender will give them money even though the banks have turned them down. (That is correct – that is why these lenders are in bed with some collection agents).

Soon the homeowner gets the 2nd mortgage which is high interest and repayable monthly at “Interest Only”. The mortgage always has a one (1) year term, but they are told not to worry – it can be renewed again at the end of the year for an additional 1 year term. (Of course that little statement is not written into the mortgage document). They are also told this mortgage will give them an opportunity to rebuild their credit over the coming year. (Only problem is – that will definitely not happen – see further down for reasons). WAIT! There is more to read… read on »